How To Live As A Third Son Of A Failure [EN]: Chapter 163

Living as the Third Son of a Failed Novel – Chapter 164

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Duke Bashrune and Count Lindaier.

Riding in the carriage with the two leading figures of the Royalists felt like sitting on pins and needles.

Right. It was like a new platoon leader heading to Army Headquarters with the corps commander and division commander on either side.

‘But why did they call me?’

The reason for the Count and Duke heading to the Royal Palace was obvious.

Since the two, who had always sent only their successors to the Founding Day celebrations, were making a rare personal visit, it was only proper to show their faces beforehand.

But what about me?

Was there a reason to officially summon me like this? If it was because of the conversation with the Head Chamberlain, it would be more appropriate to meet quietly.

‘I don’t know.’

Leaning my head against the window frame, I wondered how long I had been admiring the vibrant streets of Capital.

The towering Royal Palace began to come into view in the distance.

Windnest’s lordly castle was certainly not small, but compared to the Royal Palace of Capital now before my eyes, it felt like a toy castle.

“Kain.”

Suddenly, Count Lindaier spoke to me.

Wondering what he would say, I looked at the Count’s expression, which was complex and subtle.

“Yes.”

“We will probably be going to have an audience with His Majesty the King as we are.”

The King?

I hardened my expression at the sudden, surprising news.

“Me too, sir?”

“Considering what you’ve been up to, isn’t it obvious?”

“That’s true, but…”

“Well, you must have a solid plan if you’ve been doing such things.”

“I do have a plan.”

“I hope so.”

The Count, whom I thought would question me about what I couldn’t explain in the letter, unexpectedly kept his mouth shut.

What? He hopes so?

At the Count’s words, Duke Bashrune, who was riding in the front, glanced at me.

“Come to think of it, is this your first time meeting His Majesty the King in a private setting?”

“Yes, it is.”

“I see. You’ll probably have to be mentally prepared.”

“……”

Both the Count and the Duke left me with cryptic words and then fell silent.

No, it doesn’t seem like the story should end so anticlimactically. Aren’t you going to ask more about the plan, gentlemen?

‘And what does it mean to be mentally prepared?’

Isn’t that obvious when standing before the King? Why do I need to be even more mentally prepared?

Unable to understand the situation, I calmly tried to organize my thoughts.

‘Belintes Aransel.’

The young King, now 16 years old.

The last time I saw the King was when I won the tournament last year.

At that time, I requested to browse the Imperial Library, where the royal records were kept, as a reward for winning, and I said that the reason was to protect the royal family following the will of the Great Emperor.

Belintes was impressed by my noble chivalry and deeply moved by my request.

He was an emotional person, befitting a young king. But now, going to meet such a king, I need to be mentally prepared….

I was puzzled by the ambiguous reactions of the Duke and the Count, but soon the carriage entered the massive gates of the Royal Palace.

Passing through the gates, we were greeted by the Capital’s 수도기사단, the 광휘기사단, the Order of the Radiant Knights.

Clad in golden cloaks, they stood in formation and paid their respects to the Duke and Count as they stepped out of the carriage.

The subsequent procedure was simple.

We surrendered all our weapons and underwent a simple body search. Of course, considering the fame of the Duke and Count, this was probably done as minimally as possible.

“It’s been a while.”

Then, one of the knights in charge of searching me greeted me.

At first, I wondered who it was, but soon a familiar face was revealed as the knight opened the helmet’s visor.

Platinum blonde hair and handsome features that even men would admire.

It was Jescal Highclans.

The author-acknowledged greatest talent in the world, a man who would become the best swordsman on the continent within 10 years.

“Sir Jescal.”

“Do you remember me?”

“Didn’t you guard the outside when I browsed the Imperial Library last year?”

“I did.”

“How have you been?”

“Always the same. Welcome to the Royal Palace.”

The greeting was short. Once the procedure was over, the Count, the Duke, and I slowly moved into the palace.

The knights surrounded the three of us and moved with us. Whether it was escort or surveillance, the purpose was unclear, but it didn’t matter. It’s not like we were going to cause any trouble.

‘It’s always splendid.’

As expected of the palace where the King resided, its splendor was superior to anything I had ever seen.

I was so busy looking around that I didn’t even realize how much time had passed, even though we walked quite a distance to our destination.

After walking for a while, I stopped in front of a magnificent door.

“We’ll stop here.”

Then Jescal, who had been escorting us, stepped forward and said.

Up to here? Does that mean even the Order of the Radiant Knights can’t enter inside? If so, that must be the area where the King actually resides.

Unlike me, the Duke and Count, who seemed to have experienced this before, nodded, and the magnificent door slowly began to open.

“We will guide you from here.”

And those who appeared from within were three new knights.

They wore golden cloaks like the Order of the Radiant Knights, but upon closer inspection, there were differences in their attire.

Unlike those outside who were wearing armor, those inside the door were wearing pure white uniforms embroidered with gold.

Moreover, the brooches on their chests.

Seeing the golden dragon embossed on the brooches, I immediately recognized their identities.

‘The Ten Guardians.’

The name Ten Guardians referred to the Royal Guard Knights.

The reason for that title was simple. They were composed of only the ten best talents periodically selected from the Order of the Radiant Knights.

And that number of ten had never changed in the past hundreds of years.

The kingdom’s strongest elite, born from the endless competition between those who challenged the limited number of positions and those who tried not to be pushed out.

That was the Ten Guardians.

“Welcome. Ah, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen you two.”

A gray-haired old knight greeted us from among the three guardians who came out to meet us.

I couldn’t help but recognize who he was. The old knight was a prominent figure who was always in the top three when it came to choosing the best swordsman in Midland.

Count Graham Diaz.

The only master the royal family possessed and the sharpest sword.

It was refreshing to see the master representing Midland and the head of the guardians directly before my eyes.

‘Amazing.’

Count Lindaier was also a master, but as far as I knew, Count Graham was the first to reach that level.

That’s why Count Lindaier, who was always upright, slightly bowed his head this time.

“I don’t even know when I last saw you. How have you been?”

“Haha! What’s there for an old man to be doing well? By the way, it’s been a long time, Duke Bashrune. How have you been?”

“I’ve been well. You have a lot more gray hair. Shall I dye it with magic?”

“Oh! Dyeing by a great mage! I’ll visit you sometime when I have time.”

The three seemed to be old acquaintances and began to exchange friendly greetings.

Graham, who saw me standing there like a bump on a log, tilted his head.

“And who is that?”

“He’s my son. Kain, greet him. This is Count Graham Diaz.”

“Kain Lindaier. It is an honor to meet the kingdom’s most shining sword.”

“Oh, is that so?”

That was it. As if he had lost interest, Graham began to chat with Count Lindaier again.

‘This kind of reaction is new to me.’

The great achievements I had made had always attracted a lot of attention from everyone.

But if you’re a truly renowned hero in the kingdom, everyone must have accomplished that much in their youth.

I kept my mouth shut and silently followed the guiding guardians when it happened.

“Thank you for your hard work coming all this way.”

After passing through a long corridor and arriving at a huge hall, I saw a familiar face.

It was the Head Chamberlain, Marquis Halin Irfe.

And behind him stood half a dozen more people, each of whom was hard to describe in words.

‘Count Dekar, Count Balong, Count Carius, Count Shearer, Marquis Roderorn….’

Each of them was either a commander who oversaw an entire directly controlled territory or a great lord with powerful domains.

If we were to find one thing in common among them, including us, it would be that they were the key figures of the Royalist faction, deeply loyal to the royal family.

‘So that’s what it is.’

And after seeing them, I was finally able to realize what Marquis Irfe was up to.

At the same time, I understood why the Count hadn’t persistently questioned me about the plan I had devised.

‘You meant I would hear it here anyway?’

Marquis Irfe, who met my gaze that was close to glaring, opened his mouth with a faint smile.

“Now that everyone seems to be here, let’s get started.”

“Where is His Majesty?”

“He is waiting.”

As soon as Marquis Irfe finished speaking, Graham strode over and stood in front of a splendid door on one side of the hall.

“Your Majesty, this is Graham. May I enter?”

After a moment of silence, a low but clear voice came from inside the room.

“Enter.”

Since Graham called him Your Majesty, that voice must be Belintes’.

As permission was granted, Graham very carefully grabbed the doorknob and opened it.

Marquis Irfe was the first to enter through the opened door, followed by Duke Bashrune and then one by one.

Naturally, as the lowest in rank, I was the last to remain, took a light breath, and slowly moved my steps.

“……”

As I stepped into the room, I was met with the gazes of the dozen or so people who had entered before me.

‘This doesn’t feel good.’

The place I entered was a small room.

It didn’t seem to be a place used officially, as the walls were lined with bookshelves filled to the brim, and a large round table was in the center.

There wasn’t even a maid who should be there to serve, so I could guess what this place was used for.

It was probably an extremely secret and private space.

As if seats had been designated in advance, those who had entered earlier had taken their places.

And among those seated, I met the eyes of the man seated at the head of the table.

‘Belintes Aransel.’

The head of the Aransel family and the ruler of Midland.

It was King Belintes.

As if to prove that he was descended from the blood of Emperor Belangkas, his hair, which flowed down to his shoulders, was a pure golden color.

However, that was the only thing that matched the image I knew.

His eyes were calm, and his head was tilted slightly to the side. Along with that, the atmosphere was like that of a seasoned politician, tapping the table and leading the flow.

It was a completely different image from the king I remembered, who was staggering under a large cloak.

“Is it you?”

I was caught off guard by Belintes’ sudden question.

Normally, I would have greeted him first, and then Belintes would have spoken.

“……”

“I asked if it was you.”

Realizing my mistake, I hurriedly knelt on one knee and lowered my head.

“I, Baron Kain Lindaier, pay my respects to the rightful ruler of Midland and the monarch of the kingdom, the name of Aransel…”

“If I ask one more time, it will be three times.”

Interrupting my words, Belintes’ question made me slowly raise my head.

Because I was kneeling, Belintes’ eyes were naturally looking down at me, and the look in his eyes was….

‘He’s dangerous.’

My intuition warned me with a siren.

At the same time, I decided to forget all the information I had about Belintes.

If my intuition was correct, his appearance that I had known so far would be nothing more than a thoroughly fabricated fake.

Before Belintes, who had taken off his mask, I slowly opened my mouth while kneeling.

“If you ask if it’s me….”

“I asked if you were the one who pardoned Flores and gave the east to that traitorous family, Kain Lindaier.”

I glanced at Marquis Irfe at Belintes’ words, which were clearly filled with hostility.

You said the King thought well of me?

So you said he wanted to meet me?

Was that all a lie?

Perhaps sensing my gaze, the corners of Marquis Irfe’s lips slightly turned up.

You son of a bitch, so this was all a deliberate situation.

‘So that’s how you’re coming at me.’

Do you think I’ll be intimidated by that?

I invisibly gritted my teeth, raised my head again, and looked straight at Belintes.

“Yes. I did.”